A lawyer whose license was suspended kept a rented office and took on a client who paid him hundreds of dollars to handle his mother's estate, according to Spartanburg police -- and investigators are concerned there may be other victims.

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Police said J. Kevin Owens had a rented office at 1208 John B. White Boulevard where he practiced law.

The police said Thomas Morgan, of Spartanburg, hired Owens to handle the estate of his mother, who died in January 2013.

Morgan said, "I wanted all the T's crossed, all the I's dotted, so I decided to get a lawyer so it would all be legal."

A friend gave Owens' number to Morgan.

"He agreed to meet with me," Morgan said. "I met with him, told him what I wanted to do. I said I just want to keep my couple of acres here, my house that I've had and I've been paying taxes on since 1982. I said the rest of it, we'll sell and take care of mama, her bills."

Morgan said Owens told him he needed to call probate court, and he would handle everything for him.

"I thought he was on the up and up," he said.

They agreed to a retainer of $1,500, and Morgan made several payments totaling $600 between June and December 2013.

Morgan found an insurance policy for his mother, so he went to Owens' office in December to show it to him. When he got there, people at the office said Owens wasn't there and they didn't have any contact information for him.

He said he later got a call from probate court saying his appointment had been changed. Morgan said he didn't know about the appointment because his attorney hadn't told him about it. The court worker told him there was no record of him having an attorney.

Morgan then learned that Owens' license to practice law had been suspended in May 2013, before he had retained him as an attorney.

Morgan, who used to be a carpenter, says he lost everything when the economy went bad in 2003, and now he's afraid he could lose the home he has been living in.

"It's hard. Right now, it's hard for everybody to do anything. I run this little old cafe one day a week. I run concessions at the flea market on the weekends," he said.

"I'm just trying to get the estate squared away," he said. "If it's not handled correctly, I could lose where I live."

Owens received notice from the state Supreme Court in May that his license was being suspended because of failure to comply with continuing legal education requirements or for failing to pay the filing fee for 2013. The notice warned that suspended lawyers who continue to practice of law are subject to disciplinary action and could result in a finding of criminal or civil contempt.

Owens is charged with breach of trust with fraudulent intent. He turned himself in on Friday.

Owens' attorney, Robert Childs III, released a statement saying, "Mr. Owens fully cooperated with this investigation and intends to fully resolve all issues relative to his former law practice.

"He has been an outstanding member of the community and has been charged with a first offense, low level magistrate court misdemeanor of which he is presumed not guilty. Not to mitigate the professional and personal implications of such an allegation, but the maximum penalty for this offense is 30 days in jail or a $1,000 fine."

Investigators believe Owens may have victimized other clients. Anyone with information is asked to call CrimeStoppers at 888-CRIMESC.